Arunachaleswarar Temple, Thiruvannamalai

 

 Arunachaleswarar Temple or Annamalaiyar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva, located at the base of Annamalai hills in the town of Thiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the 5 Panchambootham linga temples in the country. It represents the fire or Agni of the Panchambootham. Lord Shiva is shown here in the form of the Agni Lingam.

The temple complex covers 10 hectares, and is one of the largest in India. It houses four gateway towers. The temple has numerous shrines, with those of Annamalaiyar and Unnamulai Amman being the most prominent. The temple complex houses many halls; the most notable is the thousand-pillared hall built during the Vijayanagar period.


According to Hinduism, life originated as a planetary combination of the five elements, fire, air, water, sky and land.

Lord Shiva is said to have appeared in each of the 5 panchambootham temples as one of the five elements. He appeared in the Ekambareshwar temple as the Prithvi lingam, representing land. He also appeared in  the Annamalaiyar temple as the Agni lingam representing fire, in the Jambukeshwar temple as the Appu lingam, representing water, in the Kalahastheeswar temple as the Vayu lingam, representing air and lastly in the Natarajam temple, as the Aakasha lingam, representing the sky.